The Lonely Prince
by Horsegirl4goldie
Summary: AU: The Prince cannot become King until he is married. He courts every princess in the world but can not bring himself to marry them. But perhaps he is not looking in the right places...


**A/N: This is what happens when I marathon-watch the TV show Once Upon a Time. I honestly don't know where this came from, and once I had finished hand-writing it out in a notebook I sat back and stared at it like it had materialized out of nowhere. **

**Be proud of me- this is the first true short story I have ever written in my entire life.**

**This story is a true Fairy Tale and is best when it is read aloud.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Kurt or any of the Acceleracers characters**

**Once Upon A Time…**

…there was a prince that lived in a wonderful kingdom.

As a boy he had many tutors who trained him in education, combat, politics, and virtue. He grew to become noble and wise, and was greatly loved by all the people.

Unfortunately, when he was a youth, he fell in love with an evil enchantress. His passion for her was so great that he went to live in her dark castle and performed many horrible and unnatural deeds at her bidding.

But, because of a great quest taken on by the Prince's closest friends, he realized the errors of his ways and was reconciled to the kingdom.

The Prince forged a new, happier life at the home of the great Lord Tezla and became famous for his great skill at horse racing.

When the Prince turned twenty years old, he was faced with a troubling problem. The King had recently died without any heir to take his place, and the Prince, his nephew, was next in line to inherit the throne.

Unfortunately, the prince did not meet all of the requirements to become King. Although he was of age, he was neither married nor betrothed. Royal decree stated that he must take a wife unto himself before he could become King.

Thus the Prince began a long and wearisome journey to meet all the princess in the nearby lands in hopes that one of them would become his bride.

He met every kind of princess that one could possibly imagine, from delicate blue-eyed blondes wrapped in rustling silks to dark eyed beauties in black lace to exotic Arabian women dressed in puffy blue sleeves and curled-toed shoes to even an Artic empress wrapped in wolfskin, white as snow.

The Prince traveled to the ends of the earth looking for his Queen, but none of the princesses would suit him.

There was nothing particularly _wrong_ with any of them. The Prince thought them all exquisitely beautiful and fit to be his bride. But, for some reason, he could not bring himself to _love_ any of them.

He became friends with several of them and even brought Lady Lani and Princess Karma back to Lord Tezla's palace to live there (much to the delight of Princes Nolo and Taro). But he still felt no love for any of them.

All the highest-ranking nobles were desperate- their Kingdom had gone for a whole year without a King. They sent out a royal decree that all of the loveliest girls in the land must present themselves to the Prince and he would choose from among them.

And so, the next year of the Prince's life was spent, day after day, sitting in court and viewing lovely girls from sun-up to sun-down.

It was not a particularly unpleasant job, but none of the beauty the Prince saw there could have even held a candle to the beauty of the enchantress. His mind kept wandering back to her blood-red lips, smooth, flawless skin, and ice-blue eyes. The Prince dismissed every maiden that came before him.

On the two-year anniversary of the Prince's hunt for a bride, he became weary of his constant decision-making and begged Lord Tezla to allow him to go out and roam the villages for a day. The Lord agreed, praying beyond hope that perhaps the Prince might stumble across a young maid that he favored. The Prince saddled his black stallion, Jet, and rode out into the towns disguised as a farmer's boy.

He traveled through many busy markets full of clamoring, rough, plain folk. He loved to listen to the women gossip about all sorts of royal scandals and hear the shepherd boys calling to the sheep as they herded them through the streets.

Later in the afternoon he began to get thirsty and halted at an inn for some mead. The kind barmaid gave him a bowl and he sipped in quietly in a corner while he listened to the conversations going on around him.

A large group of girls were gathered around a table and were chattering excitedly. At first the Prince though they were only talking about dresses, but when he heard his name mentioned, he listened more closely.

"… the moment the Prince sees me in my sea-green gown he will take me to be his Queen as quickly as he can!" crooned a saucy ginger, tossing her head vainly.

"On the contrary," a dark-haired girl countered. "When he sees me in my red ballgown he will have no choice but take me for his own!"

"If he will even notice you at all," another girl joined in. She leaned across the table and lowered her voice. "I've heard rumors that he prefers men over women."

"Nonsense!" the redhead rebutted. "He was in love with that enchantress for so long! Perhaps she's bewitched him and he can never love another for as long as he lives."

A quiet voice suddenly spoke up from a corner. "I was thinking about going to the palace tomorrow." All of the beauties turned and looked at the girl who had spoken. She blushed but continued. "My mother made me a beautiful ballgown, and I don't have to tend to the barn tomorrow…" her speech trailed off under the heat of the other girls' gazes.

They all suddenly burst into laughter.

"You! Try to draw the favors of the Prince! Hah!"

"You're far too fat dearie," purred the dark-haired girl. "Why, I don't think you've ever even worn a corset! I, on the other hand, would bet that the Prince would be able to reach around the entire girth of my waist with just his two hands alone!"

"And you're far too ugly," said a chiseled blonde. "Your whole body is out of proportion and your chin is far too high."

"Face it, Amy, you're never going to win the heart of a stablehand, much less a Prince!" the redhead said cruelly. Amy left the room, cheeks burning in shame. After a moment's thought the Prince stood up and followed her.

He found her sitting on a log outside, arms wrapped around her waist and her shoulders trembling slightly. As he sat down next to her he pulled back the hood of his cloak. She turned to him in surprise and the Prince could see tears glistening on her cheeks.

"Forgive me," he murmured softly. "But I could not help overhearing." She turned away from him and stared into the distance. He pressed on. "I think you should try going to see the Prince tomorrow." She looked at him in surprise. He shrugged. "I cannot see any harm in it. The worst he could do would be to turn you away."

"But I am far too homely. No one has ever looked twice at me," Amy said sadly. The Prince really did not think she was a bad-looking girl. Her most outstanding feature was her hip-length honey-blond hair. She was not markedly beautiful, but he had seen so many markedly beautiful women as of late that it did not matter so much to him. Her hazel eyes grew wistful as she spoke again.

"I would hardly be deserving of such a match. They say that the eldest Prince has pale, white skin and hair as black as pitch. He is strong and dark and has startling amber-colored eyes." The Prince felt his heart give a little stutter as she spoke of him so glowingly.

"It would be a chance to at least see the palace," the Prince suggested, now very much wanting her to go. Amy turned a warm smile upon him.

"You have been so kind to me, good sir. Now I wish to repay you."

"I need no payment-" the Prince was quick to say but she interrupted.

"You must come take dinner with my family. I insist." The Prince nodded.

"I would be honored. Just let me get my horse." He turned to collect Jet and Amy followed. Her eyes lit up when she saw the Prince's mount.

"What a _fine_ beast!" she gasped, laying a hand on Jet's velvety nose. "Horses are my livelihood and yet I have rarely seen a horse as fine as this one. In fact, I have never seen a horse of this caliber outside the royal stables…" Amy looked thoughtful and the Prince rushed to come up with a tale.

"My father was given a lame war-mare to be put to pasture, and we bred her. This is her colt."

Amy seemed to believe him. "What do you call him?"

"Jet."

"And what shall I call you?"

She smiled when he told her, "Kurt."

He would have chosen that home-cooked dinner over any palace feast any day. Amy's sweet mother was a wonderful cook and now he was sparring with Amy's younger brother John. Amy and her parents sat around the hearth and Amy was working a delicate stitching pattern in the shape of a rearing horse. Her parents chuckled at Kurt and John grappling in boyish enthusiasm.

When he had tired of play, Kurt sat next to Amy and spoke with her father Timothy. He was a textile merchant and very well-educated for his station. They had several thought-provoking debates. Kurt had never experienced this level of hospitality before and it warmed him to the heart.

As the night grew old, Amy put down her needlework and asked him shyly, "Would you like to see my gown?"

"Amy! That is hardly appropriate!" Amy's mother Catherine declared, embarrassed at her forwardness.

"It's all right," Kurt chuckled, "since I encouraged her to go see the Prince in the first place."

Amy led him to a back room and to a large oaken wardrobe. She opened it and pulled out a spectacular shoulderless royal purple ballgown. She held it up to herself and the delicate beading sparkled in the dim light. Kurt stood enchanted. The dark purple brought out the color of her skin and honey hair.

"It is _perfect_," he breathed, watching her twirl with the dress. "If that does not earn the Prince's attention then he is a fool." Amy laughed, flattered.

A few hours later, Amy led Jet from her stables and brought him to Kurt. She spoke to him in a low voice so she would not wake the neighboring houses. "You need to go home before someone worries about you," she whispered.

He gently took her hands in his. "But I do not want to leave," he murmured. They stood in comfortable silence for a few minutes before Kurt sighed. "Thank you for giving me such wonderful friendship. Good luck at the castle tomorrow." Amy nodded, and then Kurt did something unexpected. "Farewell," he knelt, took one of her hands, and kissed it lightly, "M'lady." Amy blushed as Kurt mounted his steed and rode off into the night.

The next morning, Prince Kurt was a bundle of nerves, so much so that Lord Tezla asked him what was the matter. Kurt took his seat in court unusually early. He cycled through the women quickly, sending them away one by one with a polite smile. When the cruel girls from Amy's village came, he refused them immediately before they were allowed a chance to speak.

It was mid-afternoon and Amy had still not come. Kurt shifted in his seat impatiently. He was worried. Had she changed her mind? Had she been too afraid? Had a few parting insults from the mean girls discouraged her from coming? As he sent out a black-haired Amazon with a preoccupied wave of his hand, Lord Tezla leaned over and hissed in his ear.

"Just _what_ do you think you are doing?!"

"My Lord?" Kurt murmured respectfully.

"You are not considering this task seriously. You hardly even gave the last girl a glance!"

Kurt ducked his head meekly. "I'm sorry, my Lord, I just haven't seen anyone that struck my fancy."

"Well your _fancy_ is the reason this kingdom still does not have a king! Now, you must put childish vanity aside and…" Kurt saw a flash of royal purple out of the corner of his eye and instantly his Lord's words left his ears.

She strode down the soft red carpet, her long dress trailing behind her. Her hands were clasped at her stomach and her head was bowed respectfully. The sight of her took his breath away.

She knelt in front of his throne and breathed, "It is truly an honor to be in your presence, O Valliant Prince." Then she raised her eyes demurely to gaze upon him. He was so enthralled with her that he did not notice the look of shock cross her face until she stood up without his bidding. Panic filled her eyes and she gasped, "Kurt!?"

Suddenly everyone in the court was staring at them and Kurt realized his dilemma. Amy fell at his feet again, shaking in alarm.

"My-my Lord, I had no _idea_ it was you and I treated you with such disrespect and like a _commoner_ and I violated your Royal Person and I-I…" her rapid speech trailed off and she started crying softly in fear.

Kurt leapt to his feet and rushed to her side. "No, no, Amy, ssh, shh, it's all right, I don't hold any of that against you, stand, please, don't cower like that." He gently raised her to her feet.

Trembling, she gazed into his eyes. He ran his fingers through her hair as he whispered, "I love you. I fell in love with you the moment you showed me your dress." Amy blinked back tears.

"But… why me? I'm not beautiful, or anything special…" Kurt sighed.

"When I spent time with the enchantress, I learned that sometimes, what is on the outside has absolutely nothing to do with what is on the inside. And you are _so beautiful_ on the inside…"

Kurt leaned forward and laid his lips on Amy's, and she whimpered and wrapped her arms around his neck. The whole court was silent for a moment, and then burst into applause. For it is very rare for anyone to witness Love's First Kiss.

Two weeks later, a grand royal wedding was held and they were married. Kurt was crowned King and Amy Queen.

And they lived happily ever after…

Well, until Amy introduced Kurt's younger brother, Prince Markie, to her best friend Melanie.

But that's another story.

The End


End file.
